East Notes: A-Rod, Red Sox, Orioles, Marlins

Earlier today, we learned that a return to the Phillies is possible for Ryan Madson as there is mutual interest from both sides of the table. Madson inked a one-year deal with the Reds before the 2012 season but underwent Tommy John surgery and missed the entire campaign. He then signed a one-year, $3.5MM contract with the Angels last winter, but he never made it to the mound for the Halos and was ultimately released. Madson has never pitched for anyone at the major league level other than Philly and he could keep that up in the New Year. Here's more out of the AL and NL East..

Sometimes, the best trades are the ones that you don't make and that's especially true when considering the non-deal that would have sent Alex Rodriguez to the Red Sox with Manny Ramirez and Jon Lester going to the Rangers, writes Alex Speier of WEEI.com. A-Rod wanted to play in Boston and agreed to shave down his monster contract to help facilitate the trade, but the Players Association rejected the compromise. That ultimately put the kibosh on the swap and while Boston fans were peeved at the time, the BoSox were probably better off with Manny and Lester.

The Marlins may not have landed a prototypical middle of the order slugger, but their offseason moves have certainly given the lineup some needed balance, writes Joe Frisaro of MLB.com. Free agents Garrett Jones and Jarrod Saltalamacchia should offer left-handed hitting pop to a team that finished last in the majors in homers last year.

David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (on Twitter) hears that there was never any interest between the Braves and Bronson Arroyo. Earlier today, Arroyo told ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick that, contrary to rumors, he never got a one-year offer from the Reds and denied ever coming close to an agreement with the Twins.

I don’t think a lot of players are punishing A-Rod for juicing. Half the league does it, it seems. It’s more about A-Rod selling players out during the investigation. Wasn’t that the motivation behind Dempster hitting him?

Who knows? Maybe A-Rod would have fared better in Boston than he has in New York. It’s a different environment, different stadium, and he would have been THE GUY there. I imagine that Sox fans are content with Lester and not knowing though.

I never knew if that A-Rod for Manny and Lester trade went through, Boston would have also acquired Magglio Ordonez as well. That would have been interesting. Looking at it now, I’m glad it never happened but man, if they have A-Rod, Papi and Mags as their 3-4-5 that would have been insane.

I’m really glad that A-Rod trade never happened but at the time it definitely looked like it would’ve been a good deal for Boston. Especially since they would have also dealt Nomar to Chicago to get Ordonez to play left.